BUSINESS

Imagine a world where Walmart only has five stores left.It’s unthinkable because the company has dominated retail for so long, and it survived the pivot from pure brick-and-mortar operations to an omnichannel retailer.Even if it sells explosive diarrhea lettuce, replaces its greeters with unsupervised raccoons, or puts the people behind Fyre Festival in charge of grocery pickup, the chain would suffer, but survive.Sears, arguably the chain that served as the Walmart of its day, did not make any single mistake quite as epic as any of the silly ones listed above. Instead, the chain, which was bigger than Walmart by sales until 1990, according to Business Insider, made thousands of little mistakes.The once-dominant retailer, founded in 1886, even survived the pivot from its catalog business to a store-based model.Since 1990, however, the chain has slowly dwindled, selling off assets such as its Craftsman, DieHard, and Lands End brands and using the proceeds for ill-fated ideas that did not reverse the slide.Now, while Sears has not shut down, the chain has five locations left and appears to have abandoned any realistic hopes of a comeback.Sears Chapter 11 was the beginning of the endSears actually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, according to court documents filed on PacerMonitor.At the time, Global Data Managing Director Neil Saunders released a strong statement on the company.“Today is a day that will live in retail infamy. That a storied retailer, once at the pinnacle of the industry, should collapse in such a shabby state of disarray is both terrible and scandalous in equal measure. However, it is not surprising because this is a destination that Sears has been headed towards for many years, with virtually no serious attempt having ever been made to change the trajectory,” he wrote.Saunders called on the company to make big changes and made it clear that its current strategies were not working.“Over the longer term it is still unclear what Sears hopes to accomplish. We believe there is no clear path to success. The group has tried to shrink its way to profitability for years to no avail, so it is hard to see why pursuing the same strategy under the auspice of Chapter 11 would result in a different outcome,” he added.More Retail:Coca-Cola quietly hints at reinventing previously failed flavorBath & Body Works quietly gains a competitive advantageDollar General brings back old pricesHe also foretold what would happen down the road with many of the company’s owned-and-operated brands, which had not yet been sold. “Further asset sales may reduce debt, but they would not put the company on a sound financial footing nor would they solve the operating losses the group is racking up,” he shared.Many analysts trace the true beginning of the chain’s downfall not to its Chapter 11 filing, but to its post-bankruptcy purchase by hedge fund operator Eddie Lampert in 2004.Lampert merged the company with KMart in 2005, which Saunders also saw as a problem. “The solution to Sears’ problems was to buy another retailer not doing well, and that was Kmart. Then they got a bigger bad business,” Saunders told CNBC. “Sears wasn’t investing or changing, and they started to suffer because of that.”And while other retailers were investing, Sears was cutting back.A report from Susquehanna Financial Group had said Sears in 2017 was spending roughly 91 cents per square foot to make upgrades both online and in stores, while J.C. Penney spent $4.13, Kohl’s was paying $8.12, and Best Buy was forking out $15.36 per square foot to make enhancements, CNBC reported.“I think if it was any other retailer they probably would’ve already filed for bankruptcy,” Retail Metrics founder Ken Perkins told CNBC in 2018. “But in Sears’ case, someone with deep pockets is able to influx cash, extract real estate and sell off assets … the cupboard is running very bare and there isn’t a lot left.”At its peak, Sears operated more than 2,700 locations.Sears was sold off for partsSears did raise cash selling off its well-known brands.Craftsman went to Stanley Black & Decker, which now sells it at Home Depot and other chains. DieHard was sold to Advance Auto Parts, and Lands’ End was spun off and still runs independently.Some analysts have argued that Lampert’s only goal was to sell off Sears’ massive real estate holdings. Lampert also used those holdings to protect his investment in the company should it fail.“If they go bankrupt, he remains in control of the company because, though he loses his equity stake, he’s their principal creditor,” former Sears Canada CEO and Columbia Business School Professor Mark Cohen told CNBC. But Lampert has cordoned “off an enormous amount of assets through the loans he’s made, which have essentially protected him from what is eventually (going to) occur,” added Cohen.Sears’ owner sold off hundreds of the chain’s properties to Seritage Growth Properties, a company he controls.The problem is that “then you end up signing leases” and saddling the company with lease liabilities, Neil Stern, senior partner at retail consulting firm McMillanDoolittle, told CNBC.

Sears only has five locations left. Shutterstock

Lampert was sued over Sears’ salesSears creditors sued Lampert and other investors, a case which was ultimately settled. The settlement could resolved years-long litigation filed against Lampert and other defendants over allegations of asset stripping and “rank” self-dealing in the years leading to Sears Holdings’ 2018 bankruptcy, according to Retail Dive.The settlement paid plaintiffs $175 million, including $125.6 million from insurers, $41.9 million from the defendants, and $7.5 million from shareholding funds, reported News.Law.”By the time it filed for bankruptcy, many of Sears Holdings’ stores had closed, major assets — including property, beloved products brands and retail banners such as Sears Canada — had been sold or spun off,” the legal website shared.How those sales were conducted were the heart of the lawsuit against Lampert and other defendants. “Lampert and his hedge fund, ESL Investments, invested in and often took controlling stakes in many of the divested assets, including Sears Canada, Lands’ End, and Seritage Growth Properties (which included a large portfolio of Sears Holdings’ real estate),” the site reported.Sears has 5 locations leftFive Sears stores are still operating in the country, but they won’t be around much longer, industry experts predict, The New York Times reported.”Neither will Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust created to cash in on the value of the retailer’s properties. It abandoned its somewhat audacious plan to turn Sears’ rich real estate holdings into dazzling mixed-use properties. Today, Seritage is offloading the last of its assets as it pays down a $1.6 billion term loan from Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway,” the newspaper shared.That process will end soon, which could mean the formal end of Sears as a retailer.“The goal is to sell the remaining Seritage assets as quickly and profitably as possible, but we are also very open to an alternative transaction that could enhance shareholder value,” Adam Metz, chief executive of Seritage, said in an interview with the paper.RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino sees Sears’ saga as a sad tale that could have been avoided. “The Sears story is one of the biggest cautionary tales in retail history. It’s almost hard to comprehend how many wrong turns a company had to make to go from being America’s most iconic retailer to having only five stores left,” he told TheStreet.It was a demise that required a lot of mistakes, he shared. “The issue wasn’t one bad decision — it was a series of decisions that slowly disconnected Sears from its customers, its employees, and the future of retail. They had the brand, the real estate, the trust, and the history. In the end, it just wasn’t Amazon that killed them but a series of unfortunate events and decisions,” he wrote.Related: Costco drops a surprising new exclusive snack

McDonald’s revolutionized fast-food breakfast with the creation of the Egg McMuffin in 1971 and the item’s national rollout in 1975. Herb Peterson, a McDonald’s franchisee in Southern California, created the breakfast sandwich, which was meant to be a portable version of Eggs Benedict.”It was breakfast in a sack, and just the kind of finger-food that busy American consumers had been missing in the morning,” according to NPR.Bob Goldin, a food industry consultant with Technomic, shared how the seemingly simple product was actually revolutionary.”I don’t think there were a whole lot of products that fit that need at that point in time,” he told NPR. “Breakfast tended to be a sit-down occasion, eggs and bacon, cereal. And here comes this Egg McMuffin that people could eat on the go.”And while McDonald’s expanded the Egg McMuffin line to include bacon and sausage versions, the English muffin remained the chain’s signature sandwich bread offering. That changed in 1986 when the chain added biscuit-based sandwiches.Now, the fast-food giant has quietly borrowed from one of its biggest rivals for morning supremacy with its new biscuit sandwich.McDonald’s adds honey butterWhile biscuits aren’t new to McDonald’s, honey butter is. The chain has introduced the new Honey Brown Butter Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit at participating restaurants nationwide. “This breakfast sandwich is the perfect spin on the classic bacon egg and cheese, taking those ingredients and nestling them between two freshly baked biscuits with creamy, toasty Honey Brown Butter,” according to the McDonald’s website. Honey butter has long been a staple at Chick-Fil-A. It’s brushed onto every biscuit the chain sells, and at some locations, you can add even more as a dipping sauce. It’s not an official side item or sauce packet, so whether a store will give you extra depends on local management.For McDonald’s, the new biscuit continues its long-term innovation policy of offering new takes on familiar items. The Honey Brown Butter Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit was launched July 21 and will be available for an unspecified limited time.

McDonald’s has expanded breakfast well beyond the classic Egg McMuffin.Shutterstock

McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A battle over breakfastMcDonald’s does not break out its sales by daypart, and Chick-fil-A, as a privately held company, does not share financial information regularly. As both chains have faced increased competition from convenience stores, they appear to be winning that battle, according to Ian O’Neil, director of consumer intelligence for Rubix Foods.He said that while competition is intense, breakfast has been a bright spot for QSRs.“We’re seeing some interesting shifts in visitation by daypart, with QSRs gaining share at breakfast from C-stores,” O’Neil told Food Institute (FI).More Restaurants:74-year-old fast food giant closes 207 U.S. restaurantsIconic burger chain closes 89-year-old restaurant for good86-year-old nationwide ice cream chain closes 46 storesFast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A do have room to grow breakfast sales.”Despite a recent focus on the daypart, QSRs only represent roughly 23% of the market, while casual dining claims nearly 28%, suggesting its position as a growth lever in the year ahead,” FI noted, based on a report from Menu Data.McDonald’s admits the breakfast challengeMcDonald’s CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski, during the chain’s second-quarter earnings call, talked about the challenge in selling breakfast when consumers are worried about the economy.”You’re seeing people either skip occasions, so they’re skipping a daypart like breakfast, or they’re trading down either within our menu, or they’re trading down to eating at home,” he said. The morning meal, he noted, has been hit harder than the rest of the chain’s offerings. “The breakfast daypart is the most economically sensitive daypart because it’s the easiest daypart for a stressed consumer to either skip breakfast or choose to eat breakfast at home. And we, as well as the rest of the industry, are seeing that the breakfast daypart is absolutely the weakest daypart in the day,” he added.McDonald’s faces another key headwindIn addition to cost concerns, fast-food chains also face the growing number of Americans taking a GLP-1 weight loss drug.As one of those Americans, I can say my personal reaction to the medicine mimics what the data show. I’m skipping breakfast most days and replacing it with a protein drink.”The pullback in restaurant visits isn’t spread evenly across times of day, according to Dana Baggett, executive director of restaurant client strategy at RRD, which works with more than 200 restaurant brands,” CNBC reported.The morning meal has been hit hardest.”Lunch, so far, hasn’t been impacted,” she said. “But breakfast has taken a hit, particularly from high-income GLP-1 users, who represent a bigger percentage of current patients, she said. In practice, that means fewer sugary coffee drinks and doughnuts, although options like Starbucks’ protein cold foam could encourage those consumers to return.”A few years ago, before taking the medication, I probably would have tried McDonald’s new Honey Brown Butter Biscuit. Today, I’m the kind of breakfast customer the chain is trying to win back.Related: Taco Bell and Chipotle face a problem bigger than lettuce

“Investors frequently receive only a small fraction of the shares they request — if they receive any at all.”

Every generation of investors gets handed a story it is told not to question.For your parents, it might have been blue chips that could not fail. For your older siblings, it was probably a website with a good domain name.For a lot of you reading this, it has been the idea that anything touching artificial intelligence deserves whatever price the market decides to put on it.Stories are how money gets moved. They are also how money gets lost.The complicated part is that a great story and a great investment look identical for a while. Both climb, both pull in new buyers, and both get covered relentlessly.The difference only shows up when the buying finally stops. And by that point, the early money has almost always finished selling to the late money.That is roughly where the year’s most celebrated listing sits right now. Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) have surrendered every post-debut gain, and economist Peter Schiff just used that collapse to send an uncomfortable message about the rest of your portfolio.Peter Schiff turns the SpaceX selloff into a broader market warningSpaceX closed at $115.26 on July 22, down 6.7% on the session and roughly 49% below its record high, according to Seeking Alpha.That close put the stock below the $135 price institutions paid for it in June.Schiff, chief economist and global strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, did not treat that as a SpaceX problem. He treated it as a preview.The decline “could be a harbinger of things to come,” he wrote in a post on X, pointing at other overhyped stocks and cryptocurrencies.More Wall Street:Wells Fargo revamps S&P 500 target for rest of 2026Cerebras Systems Q1 2026 Earnings Call: Updates on $CRBS outlookJPMorgan drops blunt verdict on stock market rallyHe had been building to this for two weeks. “AI isn’t a bubble, but AI stocks are,” he said earlier in July, per Benzinga.One correction is worth making, because the number matters. Schiff described the close as nearly 20% below the offering price.Run the math and $115.26 against $135 works out to about 14.6%, not 20%. The 49% drop from the high is accurate, but the gap from the IPO price is smaller than advertised.Several outlets repeated his figure without checking it. I flag that not to score a point, but because this is precisely how a market narrative hardens into a fact.What the SpaceX bond market saw before the stock didHere is the part almost nobody outside credit desks is discussing, and it is why my analysis takes this particular warning more seriously than Schiff’s usual output.SpaceX sold $25 billion of debt in June across five maturities, and the longest slice has been repriced hard. Yields on the 2056 notes reached a record 7.6% this week, reported TipRanks.Bond investors do not get paid for optimism. They collect a fixed coupon and they get their principal back or they do not.So when they demand more yield, they are quietly telling you what they think of the odds.Related: Peter Schiff: U.S. stocks are a ‘ticking time bomb’ — what to buy before the crashBy early July, SpaceX debt traded at an average spread of 1.62 percentage points over Treasuries, wider than the 1.55-point average for junk-rated corporate bonds, according to 24/7 Wall St.The company carries an investment-grade rating from all three major agencies. Credit markets were pricing it as a speculative borrower anyway.The stock has now caught down to the bonds. That sequence, credit first and equity second, is the one worth memorizing.Here is the timeline that got the stock here:Shares were sold to institutions at $135 apiece on June 11 in the largest offering on record, according to Seeking Alpha.The stock peaked at $225.64 on June 16, five trading days after its debut, per Seeking Alpha’s summary of exchange data.SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 before the open on July 7 under the exchange’s new fast-track rule, as TheStreet reported.Roughly 196 million shares sat short by late July, about 31% of the free float, according to Ortex Technologies.Short sellers held an estimated $15.5 billion in paper gains as of July 22, per Ortex data cited by Reuters.Why the August calendar matters more than the SpaceX headlinesThe next two weeks decide a lot.SpaceX reports its first quarterly results as a public company on Aug. 4, and roughly 911.5 million insider shares become eligible for sale on Aug. 6, reported the Motley Fool.That is a supply event landing two days after an earnings event, into a stock with nearly a third of its float already sold short.Every insider on the roster last transacted on June 11, at $135. None of them has had a chance to sell a share since.The company posted a first-quarter net loss of $4.28 billion on $4.69 billion in revenue. That arithmetic sits behind the bond repricing and behind TheStreet’s earlier coverage of its debt sale.

Peter Schiff says the SPCX selloff and junk-like yields signal trouble for AI, crypto.CFOTO / Getty Images

What SpaceX repricing means for the hyped stocks you ownYou probably do not own SpaceX directly. You may well own it anyway.If you hold a Nasdaq-100 index fund in your 401(k), SpaceX entered your portfolio automatically on July 7. You did not buy it. You did not price it.A rules change put it there, and your contribution bought some of it on the way down.That is the quiet cost of index investing during a hype cycle. The index does not ask whether a stock is expensive before adding it, and it will not ask before it adds the next one.Schiff’s record on timing is poor, and anyone trading off his calls has the losses to prove it. The mechanism he is describing this time, though, shows up in the data rather than in his rhetoric.So here is the practical move. Stop watching the share prices of your most exciting holdings and start watching what their lenders charge them.Bondholders were early on SpaceX by roughly three weeks. Credit desks repriced the risk while equity investors were still paying a premium.If the companies driving your returns are paying junk-like rates on investment-grade paper, the market has already reached a verdict your stock screen has not shown you yet.The first domino has a name and a ticker. The question worth asking before August is which of your holdings is standing directly behind it.Related: Tesla record revenue masks cash burn, $1B SpaceX swing

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealCamping isn’t for everyone, but sometimes the right product can make the most outdoor-averse person want to get outside and enjoy the fresh air for a few days. These days, “glamping” has become an ever-popular option, combining the pastime of sleeping and eating outdoors with a few extra adjustments like air conditioning or electricity to make the experience a bit more palatable. For those folks who need the accessories to actually enjoy their time outdoors — and we’re certainly not judging — then the Aescod Portable Camping Fan is one product you absolutely are going to want to buy.The cordless device, which operates on a rechargeable battery, is a must for outdoor adventures where the temperature gets a bit too toasty or for those who need a bit more white noise than the great outdoors can provide. Now that it’s on sale for a limited time for 34% off, you can get it for just $19 and try it out yourself to see how it compares to your handy fan at home. Aescod Portable Camping Fan, $19 (was $29) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?It might seem a bit strange to go camping with a fan. Afterall, you have access to fresh air 24/7 which can provide a bit of heat relief and refreshment when it gets a bit stifling. But many folks need that extra blast of cool air when your surroundings feel stagnant or when it comes time to wind down at night. The extra air makes all the difference in your sleep and can just make your overall surroundings far more enjoyable. Now that there’s a cordless portable model designed to travel easily, who wouldn’t pack it to go camping?Weighing only 1.96 pounds, the fan is very lightweight, and measures just 8.2 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and 10 inches high. It runs on a rechargeable 20000 milliampere-hour (mAH) lithium-ion battery which can run between eight to 36 hours total on a full charge depending on the selected speed settings. You can charge it and disconnect it from the USB Type-C port for standalone use or keep it plugged in via a wall adapter, computer, or power bank and run it in order to maintain a consistent full charge. The fan has four adjustable wind speeds so you can customize it to your needs and preferences, and because it has a built-in brushless motor, it operates more efficiently and quietly than similar models. In fact, it makes so little noise — less than 30 decibels — that you can easily sleep with it on. Related: Amazon’s highly rated long-lasting, portable fan with a cooling plate is just $18The fan also has three LED light levels which provide helpful illumination in dark environments and a 270-degree rotating fan head which can be manually rotated to provide directed air in a precise direction. There’s even a helpful foldable hanging hook that allows you to attach the fan onto tents, hammocks, or branches so that it’s not on the ground and in the way. Since it’s made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), even if it does drop or get knocked off, it’s durable and sturdy enough not to break or crack. Details to knowDimensions: The fan measures 8.2 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and 10 inches high.Weight: 1.96 pounds.Material: ABS.Features: This fan has four fan speeds and three LED light options. Shoppers find this fan great for camping as well as other outdoor activities. It’s perfect for the lake, the beach, or even the soccer field where your kid is playing. “The perfect outdoor travel fan,” one shopper said. “It’s really lightweight while still being sturdy enough to stand up without falling over.” Others are super impressed with how long the battery lasts. “Hell of a battery life,” another shopper said. “It ran about six hours on high nonstop.”Shop more deals Odoland 15-Piece Camping Cookware Kit, $32 (was $36) at AmazonHikenture Camping Pillow, $22 (was $26) at AmazonFire-Maple Fixed Star Backpacking and Camping Stove System, $42 (was $50) at AmazonWith products like the Aescod Portable Camping Fan, even those who far prefer spending time indoors can’t argue with getting out every once and a while. 

Platner suspended his Senate bid earlier this month after allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Trump sued the Wall Street Journal’s parent company and two reporters behind the story, revealing one of the reporters’ addresses in the lawsuit.

Prairie Farms, a farmer-owned cooperative, has spent nearly nine decades building a business whose products reach 30% of the U.S., with a particularly strong presence across the Midwest and South.Its products, including milk, cheese, cottage cheese, butter, sour cream, yogurt, and ice cream, are carried by major U.S. retailers such as Target and Walmart.The company’s products have also earned recognition at major dairy competitions.At the 2025 World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest, Prairie Farms and affiliated Hiland Dairy collected 55 awards, with cheeses from Prairie Farms’ manufacturing network taking top honors in several categories.Now, the 88-year-old Illinois-based dairy company is shrinking part of that network.Prairie Farms Dairy is closing two cheese-making operations in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, eliminating 97 jobs as it reevaluates its long-term manufacturing needs.The closures affect Shullsburg Creamery, a historic and award-winning Wisconsin cheese operation whose roots date back to 1934, and the nearby White Hill Cheese facility.Together, the two operations produce products including cheddar, Colby, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, cheese curds, Swiss, and Baby Swiss cheese.Prairie Farms said the decisions followed a careful review of its manufacturing network and long-term operational needs.“Like many manufacturers, Prairie Farms continually evaluates its operations to ensure it is well positioned to serve customers efficiently and support long-term growth,” the company said in a statement to TheStreet.Prairie Farms closes Shullsburg Creamery productionPrairie Farms ended production at its Shullsburg Creamery facility at 208 W. Water St. on July 20, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.The permanent closure affects 43 employees across production, packaging, maintenance, sanitation, warehouse, administrative, and management positions.More Layoffs:Meta layoffs take disturbing turn in new lawsuitMajor snack brand closes plant, cuts 345 jobsJPMorgan Chase pushes fraud division layoffs, despite rising revenuesThe two largest affected groups are 15 packaging employees and 15 workers in production and cheese operations. Most workers were scheduled to lose their jobs on July 20, while several employees are being retained temporarily to help wind down the facility.The closure does not affect workers employed at the separate Shullsburg Creamery retail Cheese Store, according to the notice.Prairie Farms also said there will be no disruption in supplies for Shullsburg Creamery customers.Shullsburg Creamery has been part of Wisconsin’s cheese industry for more than 90 years.Related: Grocery chain makes final major business closureThe operation dates back to 1934, when it began producing handmade cheddar cheese. It later became known for Colby, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, smoked cheeses, cheese spreads, and flavored cheese curds.The creamery’s recognizable products include longhorn-style cheese and specialty flavors such as Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar.Several Shullsburg products have also earned industry honors. Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar previously took first place at the World Dairy Expo, while its smoked cheese curds and Colby Jack Longhorn have received awards at other dairy competitions.

Prairie Farms is closing two facilities in Wisconsin.Helen Camacaro / Getty Images

White Hill Cheese closure eliminates another 54 jobsPrairie Farms is also permanently ending operations at its White Hill Cheese facility at 110 Miner Way in Shullsburg.The facility will continue operating through August 14, when most of its 54 employees are expected to be laid off.Twelve employees will remain temporarily to help close the plant, with their eventual layoff dates depending on operational needs.The cuts include 23 employees in production and cheese operations and 13 packaging workers.Other affected positions span maintenance, warehouse operations, quality control, administration, and plant management.White Hill Cheese specializes in Swiss and Baby Swiss cheese, including grass-fed varieties.The facility began as a joint venture, with Prairie Farms assuming full ownership in 2020, the same year it also acquired Shullsburg Creamery.Prairie Farms said it expects to complete the pending sale of the White Hill property to an interested party after production ends.The company did not identify the potential buyer.The company did not publicly disclose details of any severance arrangements for affected employees, but said it remains committed to supporting workers through the transition.“We are grateful to the employees at both facilities for their years of service and to the Shullsburg community for its longstanding support,” said Matt McClelland, Prairie Farms CEO.“While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary to strengthen Prairie Farms for the future. Our immediate focus is supporting our employees through this transition.”Related: Sportswear giant continues store closures nationwide

Two Morgan Wallen singles — “Don’t We” and “I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Ella Langley — rise to new peaks on multiple charts.

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” and “Stupid Song” both climb to new all-time peaks on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart.